One Year Journey
by Watashi-Chan
Summary: Zuko is getting fed up with mai. She is mean, bossy, and irritable. It comes as a relief when he is told that every firelord is to take a one year journey to every major city. When he runs into Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Katara at the western air temple, feelings for katara are revived, and katara begins to consider Zuko in ways other than a friend. ZUTARA LIVES ON!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Zuko was utterly annoyed. Mai was late for a meeting...AGAIN. He would break up with her if she didn't have a glove that shot knives on her person 24-7. She was depressing, annoying, never punctual, clingy, easily angered, scary, and downright mean. He longed to fill the awkward silence that lingered in the room full of elderly fire nation royal advisers. One lay either asleep, or dead. He snored. He was alive.  
"I am SO sorry for the absence of my girlfriend mai!" he finally said. Some of the advisers looked annoyed while others just looked bored. Li and Lo both sat happily, acting as if everything was fine. One old man began talking.

"Since Mai is absent for now, I might as well tell one of my famous stories!" It was all Zuko could do to not to scream.

"Well, it happened when I was a little boy! The teachers always said that running with scissors was dangerous, but I was quite the little rebel! I brought all of my friends outside and told them my plan. The next day we got to work on decorating our running scissors! Mine were red with blue flames, Tom-Tom's were white with purple flames, Lee's were green with orange flames, Simon's were yellow with white flames, Cyrus's were magenta with fuchsia flames, dominic's were mint-" The old man was interrupted by the loud squeak of the tall doors opening. Mai walked in smiling, acting as if she was on time and everyone else was early. She sat down beside Zuko and kissed his cheek. Zuko smiled a pathetic grin, and looked expectantly at Li and Lo, who had called the meeting.

"Firelord Zuko, we have called this meeting-" Li began,

"-to discuss a very important matter with you!" Lo finished. Zuko nodded.

"Before you can officially become firelord-"

"-you must take the ceremonial trip to each of the major cities!"

"the western air temple"

"the northern water tribe"

"ba-sing-se"

"Omashu,"

"and you must finish here!" Zuko nodded again, he had been to all of the cities before. Li and Lo looked at each other and said together,

"and you will do it alone!" Mai instantly shot up out of her chair and glared at the two elderly women. She looked down at Zuko, expecting him to refuse, but he remained in his chair.

"ZUKO!" she said through clenched teeth. He pretended not to hear her. Mai looked back at the elderly women.

"There is no way that my boyfriend is traveling the world ALONE!" Li frowned.

"there is, and he must. It is tradition!"

"A moronic one!" she shot back. "You are BANISHED! I thought I could trust you Lo, really! But you turned on me!"

"I'm Li!" she said calmly "and you have no authority over me or anyone else. Only the firelord has the right to banish someone!" Mai grunted and looked at Zuko expectantly. He looked back at her and said,

"mai, sit down" her eyes widened to the size of plums. She fired a knife out of her glove, that barely missed his head. The guards took a few steps forward, waiting for orders to take her away. Zuko sighed and mumbled,

"If you can't behave yourself, I will have the guards take you." She glared and angrily fired five knives through each of his sleeves, pinning him to the floor.

"I was just leaving!" she stormed out of the room as the guards rushed to pull the knives out of the floor. When Zuko got up, he apologized to Li and Lo for her rudeness.

"when am I leaving?" he asked

"The day after tomorrow. We have arranged places for you to stay at each city, and we had a map made for you. You have to take the whole journey by foot, boat, or animal." Zuko nodded.

"I'll take the next ship to the western air temple."

"right now I think you might-" Li began

"have bigger things to worry about than getting the the air temple" Lo finished. Zuko groaned. He bowed to the elderly men and women, and walked out the door.

Zuko slowly opened the door to Mai's room. He was welcomed with yet another knife. This one shot at a more tender area than the head. He quickly spread his legs, avoiding the dagger. He walked into the room, leaving the door open to use as a way to escape if needed. He made a column of fire around himself for protection. Mai was sitting in her bed, her back turned to Zuko, and her arms folded tightly across her chest.

"Mai?" Zuko said slowly. No response.

"this is really hard to say but...we need to break up." He was answered with more knives, which he ducked under.

"WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY?!" he screamed

"check your last sentence!" she said

"Mai! You made a complete fool of me in there!"

"No! You made a fool of me! You made me get angry in front of the whole counsel!"

"mai, you did that by yourself." Zuko backed out of the room, still keeping his fire column around him. Once he was in the hall he ran swiftly to Li and Lo's room. He burst through the door, which was a HUGE mistake. He had forgotten how early they went to bed, and had walked in on them changing into their nightgowns. He quickly slapped a hand over his eyes as the elderly women screamed. He backed out of the room, and both women screamed "CLOSE THE DOOR!" The women found him puking up everything he had eaten in the hallway.

"Firelord Zuko!"

"your mother would be ashamed!" Zuko stood up, and explained that he didn't mean to barge into their room while they were butt naked, and he was very very sorry.

"So...Could I maybe leave on that trip tomorrow morning?" he asked casually. They nodded. He held two thumbs up and rushed to his room to begin packing.


	2. Chapter 2

Yo guys! What's up? Thanks for all the favoriting. Certainly lifts my spirits since this is my VERY FIRST STORY! So I decided that I am going to try and translate this into legend of Korra (LONG LIVE BOLIN! DOWN WITH MAKO!) so that everything makes sense. If you guys don't like that idea, let me know. So I know that Mai seemed kind of harsh in the first chapter, but don't worry, I have a plan for that. Sorry if I upset any Maiko shippers out there! I personally love Zutara, and I hate how the writers of Avatar joked about them being together so much but never made it happen! Well lets get started with the second chapter!

Chapter 2

Katara carefully fished the column of water she was bending, into her clay pot that Toph had made for her. Aang was talking about some airbending technique, Sokka was trying and failing at fishing, and Toph was asleep in an earth tent.

"Hey!" Sokka said suddenly breaking the calmness with his voice. "Why isn't toph out here helping us!"

"with what?" katara said, putting down the pot.

"well," he began, "You are getting us water, I'm fishing to get us dinner, and Aang just finished building our fire! She has gotten lazier and lazier! If you hadn't forced her, you probably wouldn't even have a pot!" Aang sat down on a rock, sprawling himself out to soak up the sun's warmth.

"I asked her to bend me some rocks to put around the fire earlier, and do you know what she said? 'Do it yourself twinkle toes! You know how to bend a few measly little rocks!" Sokka laughed.

"She is pretty much useless on the beach...and everywhere else as well!"

"you guys shouldn't be talking about her!" katara said.

"relax! she's asleep!" Sokka said, pointing towards the earth tent. He once again began rapidly winding the reel. The fish was of good size and looked big enough to feed two of them. Sokka leaned back on his rock a little too fast, and the fish went flying. It was heading straight towards the earth tent. Right as it was about to hit the skin-colored stones, a slab of rock shot out and wrapped itself around the fish, forming a small box that was propelled towards Sokka's head. He ducked and screamed. The box landed in the water, and released the looked towards Aang, who shook his head.

"Toph?" he called. "you up?" the front stone of the tent slid down, releasing a livid Toph.

"OF COURSE I'M AWAKE YOU IDIOTIC ORANGUTAN BLOBFISH! I JUST HEARD EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID! SO I'M USELESS HUH? MAYBE YOU DON'T REMEMBER HOW I HELPED YOU DEFEAT FIRELORD OZAI! HOW I INVENTED METAL BENDING! IF ANYBODY'S USELESS IT'S YOU SOKKA! YOU CAN'T EVEN BEND! YOU HAVE NO BOOMERANG ANYMORE, YOU HAVE NO SWORD!" Toph moved the rock sokka was sitting on so it was right in front of her, and swiftly stomped, creating a mile high wall of solid rock around them.

"lets settle this!" Toph screamed. "right here, right now!" Aang pulled Katara close and propelled them upward on a pillar of rock.

"TOPH! THERE'S NO NEED TO FIGHT! TAKE DOWN THE WALL AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS!" Aang screamed desperately.

"SHUT UP TWINKLE TOES!" Toph yelled back. Katara quickly sent a column of water spiralling toward toph, picking her up and freezing.

"LET ME GO!" Toph wailed.

"not until you can stop fighting!" katara shot back. Toph hated being off the ground and katara knew it. She hoped she could use it against her in a non-terrible way. Toph slowly but surely stopped wiggling.  
"fine..." she mumbled. Katara gently set her back on the ground again. Aang forced down the rock wall and removed the boulder that was pressing hard on Sokka's chest. Sokka gasped for air and stormed over to Toph.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR!?" he screamed. Toph gagged

"your breath smells like fish guts!"

"OH REALLY!?" Sokka took a deep breath and blew out straight into Toph's face.

"Sokka!" katara scolded.

"listen guys... I really think that we could all use a vacation. After Aang defeated Ozai, we haven't had to rely on each other as much. That has cost us all. We haven't been as close as we used to be! We need this guys!"

"Katara's right!" Aang said.

"We could all use a trip. Why not the western air temple? Almost all of us were calm there." All eyes fell on Katara.

"Seriously people! LET IT GO! Zuko and I worked it out remember! We were ninjas for a day and went to take revenge on the man who killed my mom!"

"Sure Katara..." Aang said unbelievingly.

"Either way, we are all going to the western air temple to calm ourselves down but this time Katara won't be angry, sparky sparky boom man won't be there, and Azula won't be trying to kill us."

"We'll leave tomorrow." Sokka said happily with another puff of fish breath in Toph's face.

They all began to pack. Inside her tent, Katara carefully touched the necklace that had been her grandmother's. It now brought back memories of the night that Zuko had captured her. That was back when he still had his pony tail. Katara giggled at the memory. Zuko had tied her to a tree and tried to convince her to aid him in his quest to capture the avatar.

Weirdly, she remembered his distinct smell. He smelled like burnt flowers and mangos. He had always smelled like that. When he was freezing to death in the northern water tribe, that night in the forest, even when they were trapped in the ba sing se caves together. When she had offered to heal his scar for him. The same day that he betrayed his own uncle along with her and her friends. The night that her heart broke a little.

Katara had no idea why she felt that way Zuko was her friend. Like an older brother. Besides, he was with Mai so it just couldn't happen. For some reason, Katara hated Mai. A lot. She had no idea why but she could find fault in everything Mai did. Katara slammed her bag shut and latched it.

"Time for bed. No more thoughts about Zuko." That's what Katara told herself before she went to sleep.

_Katara and Zuko danced through the deep dark woods. Even though they were in pitch black night, she could still see Zuko's face. He smiled and slowly bent down to kiss her. Right as their lips were about to touch, the picture of her and Zuko hugging at the docks, still in their dark clothes from their revenge trip briefly flashed through her mind. Then, they were back in the woods, about to kiss. As their lips touched, an explosion of something unrecognizable bursted from the lake behind them. It had the transparency and smooth flow of water, yet the energy and ferocity of fire. It flew up into the sky and took the form of an infant. The baby fell back into Katara's arms and smiled. Katara somehow sensed that the baby was hers although it's face was blurry. Something moved quickly in the woods. Something sinister. Katara looked for Zuko, but he was gone. Something moved again. Katara slowly backed away from the trees. Suddenly, a wolf burst out of the forest. It's eyes were the color of blood, and it's teeth were jagged knives._

Katara awoke with her heart beating about twenty miles and hour.

"Just a dream" she told herslef.

**"Just a dream..." **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Hey! Whats up guys! Sorry I got out of routine for a while. SO MUCH HOMEWORK! I really should be doing homework now, but I felt bad for not writing for a while! So I always listen to certain music to get me in the mood of the chapter! For the first part of this one, I listened to Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway (although I'm an owl city fan). . It felt to me like Zuko hadn't been independent since they defeated Ozai. Like he had always been with mai and never went anywhere without her. Near the I listened to Soldier by Gavin DeGraw. So I'm done rambling on like Tamaki Suoh now! Enjoy the chapter!  
**

Chapter 3

**Zuko quietly saddled a rhino stallion from the stables and loaded his things into the back pouch. As he loaded the last fire bending scroll, it occurred to him that this was the first time he had been going anywhere without Mai since they defeated his father. It felt weird, almost depressing not having Mai on his arm. She was always there. Always. He took a deep breath, and mounted his rhino stallion. Not so scary. Okay, next step. Ride to the docks. Not scary either. Zuko quietly mumbled the words his rhino stallion responded to when he wanted it to walk slowly: Xu Bu. The Rhino Stallion lurched forward, and began the descent down the hill. With every step, Zuko felt a little more free. Like he was growing feathers one by one on his newfound wings. He finally reached the docks. Time to fly.  
Zuko dismounted and led his rhino stallion over to the animal superior. **

"Excuse me sir? I'd like to check in my rhino stallion!" The burly man nodded and handed Zuko a sheet of paper. Zuko filled in the sheet and handed the paper back. What he saw took his breath away. The man was now barely recognizable with his long beard and wrinkles, but Zuko would never forget him. He was the man who had pushed him out of his shop the night Zuko started recruiting crew members for his avatar search party. The night after Zuko earned his scar. The man must have recognized him too, because the look on his face was one of sheer terror.

"It's you! The boy who was looking for the avatar! Y-You're the f-f-firelord?" The man immediately slammed to the ground to bow, which Zuko detested. He loved being the firelord and working with Aang to make the world a better place, but hated all of the stupid rituals. Bowing was the one he loathed the most. Zuko knelt down and pulled the man up by the arm before he started a chain reaction with the rest of the crew members.

"It's okay." Zuko told him quietly

"I know that you only pushed me out of your shop to keep from getting in trouble. I was in exile after all. I forgave you a long time ago!" Zuko handed the man money for his rhino stallion, which he quickly rejected.

"N-no Firelord Zuko! No charge!" Zuko nodded knowing there was no arguing with the man. He handed him the reins and started towards the ship. The ship that held the next year inside. Five minutes after he was settled in his cabin, the ship left the dock. Zuko was officially soaring. He found himself thinking of what Mai was doing. Was she weeping? Laughing? Arguing with Li and Lo? Zuko went with the latter and played out his version of the supposed argument in his head.

"LI!" Mai screamed

"I'm Lo."

"WHO CARES!? There is a much larger matter to attend to! There are absolutely no raisins in my oatmeal! Only blueberries! WHICH I DETEST!" Lo nodded

"Well I love them! AGNI KAI!" Lo shot fire from her fists, burning the ends of Mai's hair. Mai instantly shot fire back.

"Wait...neither of them are benders." Zuko laughed at his mistake.

"I guess, in a way, Mai's a metal bender. She does have that knife glove. It's official! Mai's just like Toph!" Zuko laughed again. He hadn't laughed since the last time he saw Aang. He always found a way to make Zuko laugh. Things sure were different with him gone. Aang was currently visiting Katara, Sokka, and Toph just outside Omashu.

Zuko didn't want to think about Aang, not since the dream. The dream where Zuko had been tied to a tree and forced to watch Katara brutally murdered by him. He knew that it didn't make any sense. Aang was Katara's friend and an airbender. Stop thinking about it! He scolded himself. Zuko knew that his mind could conjure up many more ways for Aang to torture Katara. He didn't necessarily want to though. The end of the dream was the worst though. Zuko had been untied and Katara died in his arms.

Her last words were "why, Zuko? Why?" Zuko had woken up crying. Of course, he told Mai it was allergies. She would have killed him then and there if she knew he was dreaming of Katara...again. Near the time when Zuko became firelord, he started having dreams about him and Katara as a couple. He told Mai about them because he felt guilty. She would have killed him and Katara (who was staying down the hall at the time) if Li and Lo hadn't stopped her.

Zuko sometimes found himself wondering what life would have been like if he had told Katara what he wanted to say the night he helped her on their revenge trip. That he had feelings for her. Zuko still remembered how his back had tingled where her arms touched when they hugged. From that day on, all he wanted to do was protect her from the world. He had already nearly failed at it. The night Azula attacked her. Zuko had lied helpless on the ground, watching Katara have to fend off Azula on her own. He never wanted that to happen again. He always wanted to be there for Katara...and Mai. The two women swirled around in Zuko's head nonstop, but while Mai's love felt forced, his love for Katara felt natural and right. Then why are you on a boat and not with her!? Zuko thought. He closed his eyes. He would sort everything out when he got to the western air temple. It was peaceful there and he would have a lot of time to think. He did have to stay there for three months. Yes, the western air temple would be the perfect place to forget about one of the women. Which one, he wasn't sure of. Zuko closed his eyes to rest. **Just wait till you get to the western air temple...**


	4. Chapter 4

YO! sorry I haven't written in a while! I've been majorly busy. I just got back from a trip to kansas. For those of you who have never driven there, it's not the number one sight seeing trip. There are cows and fields and cows and fields and occasionally there's fields and cows. Fun huh!? (＾▽＾) aha hahahahaha!** no. IT IS NOT FUN! (-_-) **oops! sorry! i got all chuck norris there for a second (by the way, did you know that chuck norris was born in a log cabin that he built himself? And that chuck norris doesn't do push ups, he pushes and the earth goes down!) I know I'm lame.** NOW FOR THE MORE IMPORTANT MATTER AT HAND! READ THE STORY I COMMAND YOU!**aha! jk! (＾▽＾)** BUT I'M SERIOUS! **(＾▽＾) no silly muffin! I'm not serious!** SILENCE MINDLESS TEXT CHIBI! GET BACK IN YOUR CAGE!  
(T▽T) YES! CRY MINDLESS TEXT CHIBI! CRY! MWAH HAHAHAHA!** And now on with the story! aha! PS- sorry it's so short! This chapter didn't really need much though!

chapter 4

**Katara sat silently on Appa. It was the middle of the night and her turn to drive. She liked driving at night. It gave her a chance to think. About Zuko, and Mai. Katara didn't know how she felt about either of them. Mai had been a good friend of hers ever since they had stopped Ozai. Zuko was also behind the friend line in her head, but lately her brain had been slowly testing the line's boundaries. Katara hated her brain for thinking of Zuko like this. He didn't even like her. Or did he? Everything was swirling inside Katara's head. Katara leaned back to tap Sokka on the shoulder.  
"Sokka, wake up," Katara said quietly. "It's your turn to drive." She had had enough thinking time for a night. Sokka groaned and moved to the reins. As Katara moved to the back of Appa's saddle, her eyes fell on Aang. She instantly felt a pang of guilt. Did she and Aang have a relationship? Were they just friends? If so, did that make it okay to like Zuko or was he off limits as well. Katara shook her head and laid down to rest. **

**Katara woke up to a warm breeze blowing her hair in all directions. Katara sat up. Aang was driving and Sokka was reviewing maps next to her.  
"Where are we?" she asked, still drowsy. Sokka smiled and held up a map.  
"THE WESTERN AIR TEMPLE!" Katara looked over the edge of the saddle. She could very well see the cliff that hid the temple from the rest of the world. Appa swooped down and landed by a large statue of Avatar Yangchen.  
"We're here Appa!" Aang shouted gleefully. Katara grinned, grabbed her bag, and slid down Appa's leg.  
"Finally!" Katara ran through the temple, happy to be using her legs. She slowed down and strolled by the rooms. Haru's, The Duke's, SmellerBee's, Aang's, Sokka's, Mine...Zuko's. Katar stopped dead in her tracks. This was where she had yelled at Zuko about trust. This was where she had wrongly vented her anger and stress on him. No matter how many times Katara yelled at him, Zuko never seemed to care. He even helped her find the man who killed her mother. He had never given up on her. She smiled at the memory. That was one moment that her and Zuko had shared. She still remembered how his hugs felt electric. She wondered if he hugged Mai like that.  
Zuko had a girlfriend. He was off limits. Katara went back to her room and began to unpack her things. She had to stop thinking about Zuko. He would marry Mai, she would become the firelady, and they would grow old together. Katara simply wasn't a part of the equation. She dug through her bag to find what she was looking for. It was a small piece of crystal that she had taken from the caves in Ba Sing Se. When she held it up to the sun it reflected green light all around the room. She smiled. Memories were the only thing that her and Zuko would share from now on. Katara finished unpacking and went outside to hang out with Aang and Sokka. These were the people that she really shared things with. **


	5. Chapter 5

**.READ ME OR DIE! YO! So what's up? I am so excited to be writing again! I have been figuring out a new animation program that I got! If you guys want, I may be able to make this story into a cartoon series! Tell me what you think in the comments! (PS for this I listened to Jesses Girl)**

Zuko cracked his neck as he woke up from his nap. The ship had stopped. He reached for the schedule. The ship had reached its' first stop: Kyoshi Island. Zuko laughed

**"Funny, the last time I was here, I was trying to burn it down!" So much had changed. **

**The boat will be docked her for three hours...might as well get out and stretch my legs! Zuko got up and dug through his suitcase for a clean shirt and a pair of pants. ****_I'll go without my royal robe today!_**** Zuko combed his hair and walked out the door of his cabin. If anything could take his mind off of Katara, it would be a day to himself. I'll do some shopping, and see the Kyoshi Warriors. Maybe I'll even run into Suki! Zuko confidently strut across the boarding plank. **

He was greeted with the surprise of his life: Katara. Or at least a life size painting of her. Zuko walked closer. It was definitely Katara. She had her hair loopies and her necklace. The one he had taken from her...zuko groaned. He stepped aside and continued to walk down the street. He was greeted with another Katara not ten feet away. This was a head shot and it was plastered on a restaurant's sign. Zuko ignored it and kept walking. The next katara he was greeted with was of her in her swimsuit. Zuko blushed. Now he was angry. Not only was this annoying, it was harassment.

He followed a long trail of the Katara pictures, ripping down each. They finally led him to a small hut painted purple. It's sign read "Zi Bao's Fortune Readings". He cautiously cracked open the door. Inside stood a skinny elderly woman. Her hair was in two short thick braids. She happily sang to herself as she swept the floor her back was turned to him.

"Jasmine flower, jasmine flower, your scent fills the air! Beautiful blossoms everywhere! Choose a blossom white and pure! Give to the one that you adore! Jasmine flower, Jasmine flower!"

Zuko began to close the door once more.

"I know that you're there!" she called out. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Zuko stepped inside.

"Y-yes! I want to know why you were plastering this girl's face all over the island!" He took out one of the paintings and pointed to Katara. The woman who he assumed was Zi Bao laughed and turned to face him.

"So you're him!" She set down her broom and started towards him.

"Him!" She said as if it was common knowledge who Zuko was supposed to be. She was about half Zuko's size. She jumped onto a chair so she could stand face to face with him. She pinched his cheek and began to intensely study Zuko's face, turning his head and tracing his scar.

"Stop that!" Zi Bao stepped back and slapped him.

"Now you'll never win her over if you disrespect your elders!"

"Why did you do that?! Win who over?!" Zi Bao grabbed his hand.

"Come! We have much to discuss!" Zuko pulled his hand from hers.

"NO! I am not going anywhere until you tell me why you were hanging paintings of Katara all over town!" Zi Bao stopped.

"I painted them and hung them up because you needed to come here!" She led him to a table in the middle of the room.

"Sit!" Zuko obeyed.

"I don't understand how you could have known I was coming!" Zi Bao began rummaging through a chest by her side.

"It was foretold!" That's right, She's a fortune teller!

"And how did you know what-"

"It was foretold!"

"How did you know what I was just going to say?" Zi Bao slammed a small wooden box on the table.

"Can you not read child?! I'm a fortune teller! IT WAS FORETOLD! No wonder you haven't won her over yet!" Zuko shook his head.

"What's all that about me winning someone over?" Zi Bao leaned over and patted his face.

"Sweetheart, who did I hang paintings of all over town?" Zuko blushed then scoffed.

"What? Katara is just a friend!"

"Katara hmm...what would your name be sonny?"

"Z-Zuko!"

"She is a waterbender?"

"Yes...?"

"And you, a firebender?"

"Yes." Zi Bao screamed with joy.

"What? Is that so strange?!" She jumped out of her chair and onto the table.

"It is happening!" she whispered in his ear. Zi Bao squealed again.

"What?" Zi Bao moved back to her chair.

"Do you want to know?"

"YES!"

"I can't tell you!" Zuko rubbed his brow.

"Then why did you ask?"

"I wanted to be sure that you really wanted to know!"

"KNOW WHAT?!"

"Yep, we're safe!"

"Just...tell me damn it!"

"You and Katara, your destinies are intertwined!"

"Excuse me?" Zi Bao smiled and unlatched the box. Inside was a single scroll. Zi Bao pulled it out and unrolled it. On the paper there was a picture of the sun and the moon.

"You are the sun and Katara is the moon, because of your bending!"

"Okay..."

"Zuko, you are currently the most powerful firebender in the four nations! Katara is the strongest waterbender!"

"How about Jeong Jeong? And Pakku?"

"I am sad to say that they both have passed on."

"so they were the sun and moon before us?"

"NO! the sun and moon representatives must be male and female! We only have both representatives every two-hundred years! That is when the making of a new era begins!"

"That doesn't mean our destinies are intertwined! There has to be another strong firebender or waterbender!"

"No!"

"But-"

"Zuko? do you know the legend of the sun and moon.?" Zuko shook his head in annoyance.

"Well, Inside the moon, there lives a woman named Na. She is in love with the man in the sun named Liang. They however are cursed to never be together. They chase each other every night and they can only kiss during an eclipse when they pass over each other!"

"Okay..."

"That or the sun is trying to rape the moon!"

"Excuse me?"

"_Do_ you Zuko? _Do_ you want to rape Katara?"

"N-NO! Of course not!"

"You hesitated!"

"Well anyone would hesitate! How the hell did you come up with that idea anyways?!"

"It is in the legend!"

"Exactly! A LEGEND! I have a ship to catch you crazy old hag!" Zuko got up and walked out the door, Zi Bao following closely behind.

"Wait! Zuko!"

As the walked out the door, they were met with yet another Katara.

"ANOTHER ONE!? ENOUGH OKAY! THIS IS HARASSMENT!"

Zi Bao walked towards the painting and laid a hand on it.

"Take a closer look Zuko, this isn't mine." Zuko slowly went towards the poster. It read: CRIMINAL! Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Katara of the southern water tribe must report immediately to the fire lord. Failure to follow this rule will result in death."

"Zuko...are you going to kill this girl?"

**"I never sent out an order against Katara...But I think I know who did."**

* * *

BA-BAM! Can you guess who did! Like I said earlier, I am considering creating a cartoon out of the one year journey so let me know what you guys think in the reviews!


	6. Chapter 6

**HEY GUYS! So I know it has been SO long since I wrote my last chapter (da 1 wit zi bao XD) but I really didn't know what to write (that and I have some teachers who LOVE THEIR HOMEWORK). I have been doing the whole "katara, zuko, katara, zuko" thing but I didn't feel like doing yet another chapter purley of katara's fluffy inner thoughts whereas Zuko is traveling and can therefore interact with people. I know that this is different but hey, I think that it's okay to get a little crazy with my chapters (CUZ I'M BAAAAAD TO DA BONE)! So if you have a problem then just deal with it because this story is on quality not the same chapter order! (I'm sorry that was mean! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!) Oh and I listened to paper tigers by owl city (3) for this one!**

Chapter 6

**Zuko rushed to the kyoshi warriors' dojo, leaving Zi Bao behind him smiling. **

"SUKI!" he screamed, bursting in uninvited. Suki looked up from the young warrior she was drilling.

"Zuko? What are you doing on Kyoshi Island?" Zuko pulled the poster out of his belt.

"What are you doing hanging up posters for Katara's arrest?!" Suki nodded at the young warrior to leave the room. She grabbed the piece of paper from his hands.

"Zuko? I didn't hang this up! The only wanted posters we got this week were for a thief in Ba Sing Se! And he was a guy!"

"Then what was it doing in the square?!" Suki shook her head.

"I have no idea! Maybe you should talk to the person who hung up posters this week!" Zuko nodded.

"come with me!" Suki pushed back a set of blue silk curtains. Behind it were over fifty warriors, all practicing chi blocking on life size dummies. Zuko was led through lines of vicious looking girls, furiously pounding the dummies with their fingers. Suki stopped at the front of the room where a set of thick black curtains were placed. The smell of incense drifted out to greet them. Suki turned and held up her palm.

"wait here!" She quietly opened the curtains, careful not to let the tiniest shred of light in. Zuko stepped up to the curtain to listen.

"Chong Sheng? I hope that you weren't too deep into your meditation. You have a visitor!" he heard Suki say. He then heard some rustling and he stepped away from the curtain. Suki came out smiling.

"Chong Sheng said that you can go in!" Zuko nodded and quietly stepped into the smoke filled room. He couldn't make out the woman's face. In the corner sat a small waterfall and a bonsai tree. Colorful carpets hung from the walls and the person in the middle was dressed in a long white shirt and baggy white pants.

"ZUKO?!" a familiar voice said.

"TY LEE?!" Ty Lee got up and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you again!"

"Why are the calling you Chong Sheng?" Ty Lee laughed.

"Becoming a Kyoshi warrior symbolizes leaving your old self behind and picking up a new and better lifestyle! I got a new name to match my new self! Suki's name means love and mine means rebirth!"

"Does Sokka know that Suki isn't her real name?"

"Yes, he does. He calls her Suki because it is what she prefers to be called! Besides, Tiger Mud doesn't suit her very well does it?"

"I guess not..." Zuko said sitting on a purple cushion.

"Sorry if it confused you!"

"It's fine. What are you doing in here anyways?" Ty Lee laughed

"I was just meditating! Chi blocking sure takes a lot of it!" Ty Lee plopped down on her pink cushion.

"Is there something that you wanted to ask me?" Zuko jumped. He had completely forgotten about the poster.

"Y-YES!" he pulled out the poster and handed it to her.

"What's this?" she said studying it.

"A wanted poster for Katara! I was told that you hung up wanted posters this week!" Ty Lee frowned.

"Me? Zuko, I hung up posters for a man!" Zuko shook his head.

"Then why was it hanging in the square?! The Kyoshi warriors are the only ones authorized to hang up wanted posters!" Zuko could feel his face growing red.

"I have no...wait! I GOT IT!"

"what?"

"Well, if it's a criminal wanted for a serious crime like murder or something, then the nation's officials can come to hang up posters themselves! At least that's the rule here!"

"SO?" Zuko used all his strength to keep from strangling the girl.

"Zuko, calm down! Your aura is a totally gross shade of red!" Zuko took a deep breath.

"Just tell me."

"That's better! Now I saw some fire nation soldiers hanging something in the square when I was out there!" She laughed "Must have been these!"

"Fire nation soldiers? Then that means..."

"Say! How's Mai?! I haven't seen her in a while!"

"She's fine. For now!" Zuko got up and stomped out of the room.

"ZUKO!" Ty Lee called after him.

"YOUR AURA JUST TURNED RED AGAIN!"

* * *

**Zuko stomped out of the dojo, the crumpled poster crushed between his fingers. **

"Oh! When I get to her-"

"ZUKO!" he heard an old woman scream. Great...

"Zuko!" Zi Bao said running up to him.

"I saw something!"

"What was it this time?" Zuko said rolling his eyes.

"You were going to the fire nation!"

"Yeah...so...?" Zi Bao kicked his shin.

"SO if you go there then everything will be ruined!" Zuko was now on the ground clutching his shin.

"And how would that happen?" Zi Bao bent down to his level.

"Just as the avatar has to learn the elements in the right order, you must go on your journey in the right order!" She grabbed his cheeks and stretched them.

"YOU ARE THE SUN! YOU ARE A PART OF NATURE! If you don't do this right then it could be quite possible that water and firebending could become things of legend!" Zuko swatted her hands away.

"I can't just leave Katara to deal with Mai on her own!" Zi Bao Jumped on top of a rock.

"THEN GO TO HER! PROOOTEEEECT HEEEEER!" Zuko got up.

* * *

I wanted to ask you guys if you wanted to see more of Zi Bao and if you want me to translate things into legend of korra! Now keep reading!

* * *

"What about staying on course."

"oh, right! Listen! Just go on your course! The eclipse is upon us soon! The sun and the moon will naturally be drawn to each other!" Zi Bao picked up a stick and pointed at Zuko's ship.

"You might want to head back to your ship!" Zuko looked. A steady stream of people was now pouring across the boarding plank. He started to run, then felt a burst of earth behind him, sending him flying. Zi Bao was an earthbender! He landed in a small pond near the ship. As he made his way to the bank, he thought to himself.

"What will Katara be like? I haven't seen her in so long! She must be seventeen by now!" He hurriedly rushed onto the boat, dismissing the thought. That is, until he got back to his room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Katara sat silently in her room. It had to be at least two in the morning. She just couldn't sleep. Her seventeenth birthday was in two days! Seventeen. The year when most water tribe girls got married, all of them actually. All of them except Katara. Unless she was planning on marrying her brother, Toph, or Aang, she was still single. Besides, you had to have someone from the government present to actually be married.

The only one still up was Appa. Katara silently slipped out of the temple and climbed on top of the flying bison. Midnight rides always helped her think. She skillfully fly the bison up over the cliff edge and towards the ocean. She had a few hours before people started getting up.

Thoughts of Aang flooded her mind. Was she destined to marry Aang? Did they even have a relationship? Yes. She had known this for a good while. The way Aang looked at her, the way she was comfortable with him, these were both signs...weren't they? Besides, Zuko was all the way across an ocean. He was the firelord and he had Mai. Aang was her only choice.

Katara had just reached the edge of the ocean. Something silently moved along the water, and black snow had begun to fall. A firenation ship was near. This thought would have scared Katara four years ago, but now it was welcoming. The odd thing was, the fire nation usually didn't come near the western air temple. The ship docked and Katara flew down to greet whoever was getting off. She made sure to leave Appa on a cliff so he wouldn't scare anybody, and she climbed down herself. All she could see were rhino stallions and ape yaks.

"Just a merchant ship" she thought. Then, behind a baggage cart, stood Zuko. He was lugging two baskets full of clothes. He didn't see Katara at first. She was hidden behind a large group of ape yaks.

**Katara stood, shocked. Zuko was there...at the temple...two days from her seventeenth birthday. Zuko set down his bags and took a deep breath of fresh air. Why was he here?**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Zuko took a deep breath of fresh air. He had been crammed on a boat full of rhino stallions and ape yaks for the past hour. He glanced around. The last time he had been there, he was with Katara. He thought of Zi Bao's words "Just go on your course! The eclipse is upon us soon! The sun and the moon will naturally be drawn to each other!" He wondered how long exactly it would be until he saw Katara again. A week? A month?

"ZUKO?!" Or now? Zuko looked out above the ape yaks. There stood the moon: Katara. She looked just the same as the last time he had seen her. She had been fourteen then. It had really been three years. Her hair loopies and fire nation bun (that she had grown accustomed to wearing) were exactly centered. She was alone. Zuko couldn't help it. He ran. She ran towards him as well. They collided in the middle and embraced each other. Katara was the first to pull away.

"I haven't seen you for three years! What on earth are you doing at the western air temple?" Katara said. Zuko laughed.

"Long story, basically I have to travel to a bunch of major cities as part of my fire nation duties!"

"I see!"

"why are you here?!" Zuko laughed, playfully poking her stomach "I thought you guys were in Omashu!"

"We took a vacation!" Zuko nodded.

"Do you have Appa?"

"No I walked from the western air temple!"

"Fine! Stupid question! Anyways, would you help me carry my bags?" Katara followed Zuko to his things and picked up the lighter of the two bags. Zuko glanced over at the sun, which was just beginning to rise over the ocean. _Sun and moon. Destinies intertwined._

"Katara...? I have to talk to you about something-"

"HEY!" a man riding a rhino stallion screamed.

"THAT'S THE WANTED CRIMINAL!" he pointed to Katara.

"GET HER!" Katara looked helplessly up at Zuko.

"run."


End file.
